Run
by Milu Georgia
Summary: Sometimes Mitch gets overwhelmed by his feelings and just... runs. But can he outrun the feelings he has for his best friend as well? Or is he doomed to suffer from this nightmare for the rest of his life? "So when did it stop? When had they stopped being there for each other and when had it started to be Mitch running after Jerome like a desperate fool?" Merome
1. Chapter 1: Run

**Music tip:  
Leona Lewis - Run  
youtube: **watch?v=jqpAgMxhx30

* * *

Bury My Love

 **Two-Shot:  
** _Run_

* * *

 _Just run._

The air was cold and left goosebumps on his skin, as Mitch quietly excited his house in Florida to go on a run. By itself it wasn't unusual for him, he always tried to stay healthy and fit due to his athletic mother and so he went for a run in his calm and beautiful neighborhood quiet often.

The only thing not fitting in was the time though.  
3 a.m. on a Saturday night.

His hands were shaking when he closed the door on his way out and when he tried to start the music on his player that he usually ran to. Somehow he must've chosen the wrong playlist, because instead of a numbing and steady beat a completely different song started, but he didn't want to change it. Not now. He just needed to finally get away from here, the house, the memories, the wishes…

And _him_.  
Jerome.

His throat began to contract from just thinking about his best friend and Mitch began to run out of the driveway in a pace that was way too fast for him to keep up. A stupid dream, a stupid, so stupid dream had brought back the feelings in a rush he hadn't been able to escape from.

Despite all his efforts to forget and leave them behind, they had caught up with him again.  
He should've known.

After all he would never get rid of the root of all evil.  
How could he, when Jerome's laugh opened up his heart and lifted him high up in the sky?  
How could he, when his caring words made his chest explode with hope that maybe, maybe…?  
How could he, when the soft look in his eyes full of love made him glow and break at the same time, because he never was the reason for it?

 _Just run._

Mitch fell into a steady rhythm, as the next song began.  
When he had woken up from a dream, which had turned into a nightmare, he hadn't hesitated to throw on his sport clothes and his hoodie. It had been the same dream, the one he hadn't had for several weeks, but it was still exactly the same he had so many times before.

At first he always was together with Jerome. Mitch never remembered where exactly they were, but it was more memorable that Jerome was holding his hands every single time.  
The soft look in his eyes? For him only.  
The smile? Dedicated to him.  
The sweet kiss, innocent and full of passion at the same time? Indescribable.

And then it always took a turn, Jerome disappeared and a knife was stabbed through his heart, when he had a vision of what _could_ be.  
In front of him, further away now, appeared an older version of Jerome. He held _her_ in his arms with a ring on his hand that lay on her growing stomach. Married and about to be a father, who loved _her_ more than anything else in the world.

It had been Alanna. Always. Then they had broken up and Jerome had been so incredibly happy a few weeks later. He had been practically glowing when he had said to Mitch he wanted to tell him something important…  
Mitch had allowed himself to hope, just a little bit, because Jerome had been so happy without her being there. Maybe things could work out. Hope was something good and he had been excited to finally talk to his best friend about it, he had been willing to confess everything and then-  
Louise and Jerome had gotten back together.

He had been so cheerful.  
Because of _her_. Not him. Never him.

Mitch had tried to get rid of the feelings. He for sure was just an overprotective best friend, who didn't want to lose Jerome – reasonable, normal, something everyone would understand, right?  
Of course it hadn't worked out and the dreams had returned.

 _Just run!_

Some parts of the walkway were completely dark due to missing street lamps, but Mitch enjoyed being invisible for some moments. No one could see him thinking and having a mental break down about things that were unreachable for him.

Unreachable.  
He should admit it to himself, shouldn't he?

Jerome would never have feelings for him, not those that stole your breath and could ruin you in the blink of an eye. There would never be more than friendship and some simple hugs, instead of desired kisses and confessions and simply… love.

Mitch didn't remember when exactly he had realized that he actually loved his best friend.  
Did it happen when they had streamed on Twitch a few months ago? Or had it rather been the moment in which they had decided to move in together?

 _Just run… escape for a moment._

The next song began and Mitch finally figured out what had happened to his music.  
It was one of Jerome's playlists he had put on his phone for Mitch to listen to.

" _So you know I'm always with you,"_ he had said in their small hotel room in London last year. _"I know, it's cheesy. Just…"_ Jerome hadn't finished his sentence back then, because he had blushed an adorable shade of red and avoided his eyes. They had been sitting on the large bed they had to share, so Mitch had just chuckled and hugged him.  
And then things had changed. That must've been the beginning of the end. Jerome had started to talk about their friendship and how important Mitch was for him, like a brother, who always was by his side, no matter what…

His heartbeat had increased, when Jerome hadn't backed away from the long hug.  
It had been hard to breathe, because his scent had never been this intense and capturing before.  
Then the fluttering feeling in his chest had flared up, completely unexpected, and it had never left him ever since. It was a curse, a nightmare and the most beautiful feeling in the world.  
Love.

 _Stop!_

Mitch's heart was pounding painfully in his chest and his legs nearly gave out, as he stopped at the boundary wall of one of their neighbors' houses and leaned against it. He was gasping for air and ripped his headphones out, because the song was too painful to listen to. "Shut up," he whispered to no one in particular, because he was still all alone. "Just shut up," he breathed and then slid down the wall, when his lower lip began to tremble.

Not once had he allowed himself to cry over Jerome.  
He had tried to tell himself again and again that love was something beautiful, no matter if the other person felt the same way or not. But to see him together with Louise again, to hear him rave about how she was the perfect one, the one he could actually imagine to marry one day-

"Stop, stop thinking about it, please!"  
His voice was barely audible, as the tears appeared in his brown eyes and spilled faster than he could brush them away. "Why can't you fucking stop thinking about him for just a second?!" he sobbed, buried his wet face in his arms and clutched his hoodie with his shaking hands to hold on to something.

Love.  
It hurt endlessly, the pain was overwhelming and ripped his chest open, because he wasn't able to bury the feelings inside of him any longer. Didn't he _see_?! Jerome was his best friend and supposed to know, when Mitch's world fell apart and when he couldn't go on, wasn't he? Jerome had always been aware of how he felt, even when Mitch had tried to hide his thoughts and feelings about the fight with Adam and the mess with Team Crafted. Jerome had known and been by his side to comfort him without a single word.

So when did it stop?  
When had they stopped being there for each other and when had it started to be Mitch running after Jerome like a desperate fool?

-they had stopped being best friends. The realization hit him hard and the sobs intensified, as he tried to deny the obvious fact that they weren't as close as before Mitch had foolishly fallen in love with Jerome. But even the fans noticed, didn't they? Various comments, the lack of videos together, because Jerome was together with Louise all the time, enjoying her presence and his life back in New York.

Had it been the right decision to move in together in Florida?  
It had been back then, as they just were best friends and nothing more.

Now it seemed to have done more harm than good.  
Mitch was a broken and crying mess, his usual optimistic self was buried under the heartache, the pain and the longing for the confident American by his side. And Jerome self? He had moved on and grown up in a direction Mitch couldn't follow.

The painful pressure on his heart and the feeling to suffocate didn't disappear, but the tears finally began to subside because he had no energy left to cry his heart out. People always said that it was relieving to let the tension out and just allow the tears, but Mitch felt even worse than before. The only thing that had actually disappeared was the desire to just run far, far away from Jerome and everything burdening him.

Now he just wanted to really be invisible, to curl up and let Jerome go.  
It would help him to move on, wouldn't it?

…who was he kidding? Of course he would never be able to, because this was not about a random person – it was about _Jerome_. He needed him by his side, now more than ever before. As a lover, yes, even though as a best friend would be enough as well for now. Jerome would listen to him, he would be silent together with Mitch and he would comfort him until the tears had subsided.

But he wasn't here.  
Instead Mitch sat at the side of a road at 3.30 a.m., while crying about a hopeless love and the loss of his best friend. They had been friends for so long and now everything was over.

…wasn't it?  
They've known each other since 4th grade.  
Should he really throw everything they had away? Maybe Jerome needed to be reminded of what they had and what their close friendship had been about. Maybe he didn't even realize that they were drifting apart.  
Maybe Mitch should be honest with him.

It took him a while, but Mitch managed to raise himself up from the pavement. Step by step he began to walk back the way he had come from, slowly and uncertain, but not once did he stop again. Not even when the sky opened up above him and drenched him in cold rain. He began to pick up his pace, faster and faster, until he was running with a steady rhythm again.

And then the thoughts and especially the doubts returned to his exhausted mind.

So he was going to confess to Jerome?  
Was it even worth it? It for sure would only make things worse, so what was he trying to achieve with it? To make Jerome feel guilty for being himself and loving Louise? He was happy with her, so Mitch shouldn't even think about breaking them up. Not that it would work to begin with. Jerome wasn't in love with Mitch and would never be.

All the talk about Merome made Mitch hope that maybe, maybe it could work out for them and that he was mistaken about Jerome's feelings. What about those little moments the fans were able to catch? They had to mean something, because maybe, maybe things could work out, no matter if there was someone else involved or not.

Despite the tears streaming down his face again and mixing with the raindrops, Mitch had to laugh. It was dry and without any humor. Jerome had been his best friend for a long time, Mitch knew him better than anybody else. He wasn't in love with Mitch and would never be.

He couldn't tell Jerome the truth.  
If he did, he would destroy all he had left.

He passed the gate to his house and kept running in the opposite direction through the drenching rain.

 _Just run._

Due to the darkness and the heavy rain Mitch wasn't able to see the figure standing in front of one of the windows upstairs, watching him with a worried and pained expression on his face.

 _Run._


	2. Chapter 2: Frozen

**Music tip:  
Madonna - Frozen  
youtube: **watch?v=MDM0yAJjlBo

* * *

Run

 **Chapter 2:  
** _Frozen_

* * *

His hands must have stopped shaking hours ago, they now were ice-cold and covered in rain. It was easier to slip the key into the keyhole of the door and mere seconds later Mitch dragged his body into the hallway of his house. He was beyond exhausted and forced himself to stay upright, because once down he feared he wouldn't be able to get up again.

His workout in the middle of the night had turned into a mental breakdown and then a marathon – one he shouldn't have done. With trembling legs and arms he forced himself up the dark staircase, step by step he came closer to finally passing out in his bed. A few blissful hours of not remembering would follow, until he would awake in his bed with the memories of the night. And alone.

Of course alone. As always. Without Jerome. Never with Jerome…

"Where have you been?"  
Mitch had just reached the top of the staircase, as a familiar voice to his left made him stop.  
He froze. It was _him_.

Mitch slowly turned towards his best friend, but he couldn't make him out in the darkness of the upper floor.  
Why was he awake? Had he been to the bathroom and then heard the door? Had he noticed Mitch leaving in the middle of the night? But why hadn't he followed then? Didn't he care at all? Had he been afraid to confront Mitch, because he knew that something between them was dead?

"I was worried sick, when you didn't return after passing the house an hour ago."

So it had barely been two hours since he had left the house in a hurry?  
It actually felt like a lifetime.

He tried to answer, but not a single word escaped his hurting throat. Whether it was from the rain, the sobs or the screaming he didn't know. Not that it mattered anyway. Mitch closed his mouth again and stayed silent, while he began to feel sick to his stomach. It was a mere dream, wasn't it? Had he passed out at the side of the road? He had to, because he wasn't ready to face him yet, not so soon after he had torn himself up over what to do with his stubborn feelings for the American in front of him.

"Stop ignoring me!"  
He flinched and took a step back, but Jerome stood in front of him in the blink of an eye. The anger was barely visible in his eyes, before it disappeared and only left worry behind. Mitch forced himself to not run away again while Jerome scrutinized him, because it wouldn't work.  
Not this time.

"Why have you been crying?"  
He froze. Again.  
Mitch had been prepared to answer every possible question, why his clothes were drenched, why he had bags under his eyes, why he had left in the middle of the night-  
Not this one though. How had he noticed?!

"I haven't. It's raining outside," he replied and winced at hearing his own voice. It was raspy, too raspy to be just from the rain and it uncovered his earlier lie easily. Jerome sighed and Mitch turned around to flee into his room. "No, you're not running away again," the other muttered and grabbed his wrist forcefully.

"You're going to talk to me about what bothers you. It's what best friends do and we are fucking best friends, right?"

"…right."  
The sarcastic tone of his voice surprised Jerome and Mitch was able to free his wrist from his tight grip. Jerome knew? He hadn't expected him to and for a moment Mitch was silent, before he forced himself to keep on talking. He couldn't let this chance slip and was too tired to think of the consequences. They were done anyway, no matter the outcome.

"So you actually noticed? I didn't expect you to still care."  
His voice was unusually cold and Jerome's frame seemed to freeze, but it felt good to let go of the hidden anger and the frustration that messed up his mind constantly. He was sick and tired of keeping the act up and pretending as if he was alright. Jerome hadn't noticed his conflicted feelings during the past weeks and months, so it was time to clear things up.

Once and for all.  
Their friendship would come to an end, because Mitch was sure he couldn't survive doing this any longer to himself. One day Jerome would get married. Something he wasn't willing to witness. Something he _couldn't_ witness. It would kill him. Or he would do it himself.  
The other option was Mitch telling Jerome what he felt. He would break off the contact to him immediately – no more stupid and funny messages, no more banter-filled recordings, no more phone calls in the middle of the night because the other couldn't sleep. It would stop either way.

"Mitch, what-"

He didn't give Jerome the chance to continue.  
"What I wonder about is when you actually noticed, though." A dry laugh, no trace of humor. "I mean, it's not like that you cared weeks ago, when I nearly broke down because you couldn't shut up about her. You just kept on ramming that fucking knife into my heart over and over again, while talking about how fucking perfect she was!"

Silence.  
A lightning strike hit somewhere close and the sudden brightness filled the hallway in a split second through the small window behind Mitch. Jerome's expression on his white face was unreadable.

"So that's why you distanced yourself from me. I should've known," Jerome slowly said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. A gesture to protect himself. To protect _her_ at all costs. The sickness in Mitch's stomach intensified, but the anger continued to build up inside of him. Jerome was twisting the facts and Mitch wouldn't let it end like this.

" _I_ distanced myself?! Are you kidding me? Jerome, _you_ were the one to ditch me for her, instead of meeting up with me, instead of recording with me, instead of just _talking_ to me! I put up with it for months, because I knew how much she meant to you. Not in a million years could I have distanced myself from you, Jerome. I yearn for you to simply notice me once in a while, that's how desperate I am, so don't you dare telling me I am responsible for this mess!"

His voice was shaking as well as his hands, while he took a step back and leaned against the wall of the hallway. A little part of him screamed at Mitch to apologize and to undo the past minutes, but the rest of him simply wanted to run far away from Jerome and the mistakes they both had made.  
Instead he continued to lean against the wall in silent darkness. Frozen. He felt still sick and had to take some deep breaths. The unexpected fight was wearing him down and he had been exhausted enough already from his little tour through the neighborhood.

"Wait a second – it's not that you don't like her. You're… Mitch, are you _jealous_ of Louise?"

He just now realized?  
Mitch looked up abruptly to stare into the surprised eyes of his so-called best friend, but the sudden movement only increased the sickness in his stomach. Now he knew. The secret was out. Jerome knew and in a second Mitch would have to deal with the hatred in his eyes, the last look he would ever see of him. It all became too much and before Jerome could react, Mitch ran towards the bathroom, due to the fear of being physically sick.

Had it been the stress of the past weeks? The worry to not let anyone see behind his mask? The realization that everything was over now?  
They had known each other forever and were practically brothers, but now that the love he had for his best friend had grown into something supposedly even more fulfilling, everything was falling apart around him.

Suddenly the light was turned on and a figure sat down beside him, putting a comforting hand onto his back in the process. Jerome.  
When Mitch was able to breathe again and the urge to throw up had disappeared without anything actually happening, the American began to say as if nothing had happened before, "Dammit Mitch, that's what you get for running around in the middle of the night while it rains. Let's get you out of your clothes."

He stood up and gave Mitch a towel, before he grabbed more and larger ones out of the bathroom cabinet. _Why?_ Jerome knelt down again and carefully peeled off his hoodie. The emotions churned up again, he felt conflicted between anger and the ever-present need to be close to him. _Just a little bit,_ he told himself. _Enjoy the closeness as long as you can, before he disappears forever._

Why hadn't he escaped from him yet though?  
He was unable to bring himself to ask Jerome, because he was afraid to scare him off for good.

"You're incredibly self-destructive if you want to be, you know that?"  
How in the world was he able to still sound as if nothing had happened?

"Raise your arms."  
Mitch obeyed the hidden command and stared at the ground, even though Jerome sat behind him now and couldn't see his flushed face. The urge to bring the adorable boy back to his senses was overwhelming, so he clenched his fists to refrain himself from saying something stupid. He should just continue to enjoy their last minutes together, until it all would be over.

But why hadn't he left already?!

With a sudden movement Jerome embraced him from behind while putting the towel around his wet shoulders. It lasted merely a second. Then he simply began to rub the towel with his hands, so that Mitch's frozen skin would heat up again.

"Stop it."  
His trembling voice was barely above a whisper, but in the oppressive silence Jerome was able to hear him perfectly. He continued his soft gestures and ignored the words of the Canadian.  
"Please, Jerome, stop it. Just leave and let us get it over with already."

"You're not telling me what to do, Benja."  
The familiar nickname was too much and with a surprisingly strong shout he got rid of what bothered him the most at the moment.

"Why are you still here, Jerome?!"  
His torturing movements finally stopped, but his hands continued to rest on his arms. Mitch pressed his lips together, afraid of what would follow. But it needed to happen, otherwise he would never be able to move on. At least he couldn't try to.

"What a stupid question…"  
Jerome chuckled and Mitch gasped at the fine sound near his ear. Such bittersweet teasing.  
"I'm your best friend. Where else should I be?"

Soft lips brushed over the thin skin of his left ear, then hesitated for a second, before they were pressed on a spot below it. His mind went completely blank in an instant. Nothing mattered anymore.  
Jerome's lips continued to sweep over his skin, until he found the spot he must have been looking for. Mitch's pulse went through the roof and then completely stopped, as the lips began to gently suck on his pale skin.

"What are you doing?" he murmured and tried to keep the sane thought of what was right and wrong in his mind, but it was erased when Jerome bit and then gently licked over the bruised skin of his throat. With a gasp he closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto Jerome's shoulder.

"You have no idea what goes on in my mind. Don't expect me to be like everyone else, understood?"  
Mitch was able to keep another gasp in by biting onto his lower lip, when two strong hands left his arms and instead grabbed his hips to pull his body towards Jerome's. The heat in his back revived him and his needs, and before he could think about it his parted lips begged, "Don't stop, Jerome, please don't."

The grab on his hips tightened, suddenly the lips were back on his throat, but this time Jerome placed a gentle kiss onto his carotid artery and then licked over the pulsating skin painfully slowly. He wasn't able to hold back a low moan and he could feel the other grin, before Jerome began to suck on his skin again.

He must have hit his head pretty hard on the run. It wasn't real, Jerome would never drive him crazy by doing… _this_. But then again his lips felt so real, as well as the pain and the pleasurable sensation of his bites and kisses.  
And then they suddenly stopped.

"You don't know anything about my feelings. I've learned to hide them years ago, Mitchell."

Another bite.  
Another kiss.

His hands were trembling as he grabbed Jerome's shirt clumsily with one hand. Then he began to process his words. "What are you-" He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as Jerome painfully pressed his fingers into his hips and then continued.

"You didn't have to lie to yourself for years. You didn't have to force yourself to move on while keeping our friendship alive. You didn't give your heart away, even though it belonged to someone else entirely. You simply chose one way, but it's not that easy."

His heart stopped beating.  
It wasn't true.  
Jerome… did he really?

"For years I looked at you the way you look at me, Mitchell. So don't you dare try to run away from me, now that you've presented me what I was yearning for all that time."

He whimpered.  
No matter if it was real or not, he never wanted to wake up again.

What was a lifetime filled with heartache and unfulfilled desire compared to an endless moment of happiness and love? And then, when he realized what his words _really_ meant, his heart began to beat again with a strong pace, while he filled his lungs with a deep refreshing breath.

Jerome felt the same.  
What a heretic thought, so absurd, unreasonable even, but his heart wasn't willing to listen to his mind any longer after all the pain it had to endure.

Another lightning strike hit the ground, followed by the deafening thunder. Slowly Mitch forced himself to open his eyes again and to raise his head. Then he threw a shy look over his left shoulder.  
Now or never.

Sitting on the ground he turned so that he was facing Jerome, whose hands were still gripping his hips. Mitch placed his hands onto his shoulders and then looked up into the other's eyes. They were pitch-black from the desire he wasn't willing to hide any longer and Mitch was drawn to his glistening lips. Their noses touched and he was a breath away from placing his lips onto Jerome's, as his consciousness appeared at the worst possible moment.

He stopped.  
"I can't."

Mitch was about to pull away again, but a hand grabbed his neck and held him in place forcefully, centimeters apart from Jerome's lips. "Why?"  
His voice was cold and on edge. A shiver ran down his spine.

"You're with Louise. I'm neither going to be some kind of affair, nor a stupid and meaningless one-night stand. I don't want to be second best, Jerome."  
His counterpart stayed silent for a moment. Then he began to laugh huskily.

"Oh Mitch…"  
An honest smile appeared on his lips and for a moment the dark expression faded into the background.  
"You never were, nor will you ever be second best to me."

The grip on his neck tightened and he was pulled forward, until Mitch could feel Jerome's breath on his lips. His eyes sparkled mischievously and took his breath away.  
"You are the jackpot."

Then Jerome leaned forward, stole a kiss from him and relinquished his grip on Mitch to place his arms around his back. He was falling, falling away from reality while he died a thousand deaths and was revived by those sweet, sweet lips over and over again.  
 _I'm dead, I have to be, I'm dead, dead, dead, dead, dead-_

Nothing was left from his earlier roughness, instead Jerome placed him carefully onto the forgotten towel on the ground to keep his bare skin separated from the cold tiles. His lips were still connected to Mitch's in an innocent kiss, but then he broke it when Mitch gently shoved him away.

"I love you, Jerome."  
His mind was screaming at him to stop then and there, the mess that was awaiting him on the following morning was too much to deal with, but he wasn't able to hold back any longer. It was all or nothing, a life with or without Jerome and since he actually had a chance with him, something he had never dreamed of…

"I love Louise."  
He froze. Had Jerome just been playing with him?! Had it been a sick joke to break him once and for all, a-

"But I dream of you."  
A kiss on the forehead.

"I cherish you."  
A kiss on his cheekbone.

"I adore you."  
A kiss on his chest, directly above his heart.

"I care for you."  
A kiss on the dark rings under his eyes.

"I find you irresistible."  
He hovered above his lips.

"I can't imagine a life without you, never could, and now that you've given me the chance to love you, to not just be a best friend to you, don't expect me to back down again. I'm too far gone, Mitch. This is what I dreamt of. Just accept it."

Their second kiss was even better than the first, as their lips slowly began to move in sync. It was careful and shy, both didn't know what to expect from the other at first, but with every movement, every caressing they learned to please the other in a bittersweet and unimaginable way. Mitch's heart began to race again happily and he had felt more alive in the past minutes than he had the whole past year.

He should just give in to Jerome, because he loved him, he loved _Mitch_ , even though he had been together with precious Louise for so long.  
But was it fair to just steal him away from her? His stupid mind tried to imagine a what-if scenario, in which their roles were reversed. Wonderful Jerome would have been by his side, telling him day in and day out how much he meant to him and then-  
From one day to the other he would be gone. In the arms of a girl that always had simply been a friend to him. Someone he thought he could trust as well. There never would have been a sign, nothing, and he would start to blame himself, because it must've been him that had somehow pushed Jerome away from him…

"Stop, Jerome!"  
He forcefully stopped the kiss and managed to push Jerome off him long enough to slip out of his grasp and to stand up on trembling legs. His wet pants were clinging to his skin, but he brushed the uncomfortable feeling aside and tried to catch his breath again. When Jerome stood up as well, disturbingly calm, the dark look in his eyes was back and made Mitch step back until he hit the wall. Not that it mattered anyway, because Jerome was in front of him in an instant and pressed his shoulders painfully against the wall.

"You want to run again, don't you?" he whispered in his ear and feeling the heat of Jerome's body, Mitch forced out a shuddering "Yes." It was no use denying it anyway.

"Life isn't easy, Mitch, you can't run away forever. Once in a while you have to take the chance, even if it means that you lose sometimes."  
Compared to Jerome's deep voice the kiss on the spot under his ear was surprisingly soft, but it didn't hold him back from replying.

"From what I understand you ran away as well."

"And see where we ended up, caught in the middle of a fucking love triangle because you aren't willing to accept that not everyone can be happy when love is involved."

Jerome's one-sided words flared the anger up again and with a humorless laugh Mitch muttered, still pressed against his warm chest, "Idiot, as if I don't know that."

"Then choose, Mitchell."  
Jerome let go of him and backed away, until he stood in the middle of the dark bathroom. The rain was hitting the small window behind him and just now did Mitch take notice of it, but Jerome's following words shoved the thought back into insignificance.

"If you stay, I'll never let go of you again. If you choose to run away, we're done. I can't force myself to pretend as if nothing is wrong, while being your best friend and her boyfriend at the same time."

All or nothing.  
A life with or without Jerome.

And then he was able to finally make a decision.

Jerome's arms caught him in a tight embrace, as Mitch flung himself at him. Both were silent for an eternity, but they couldn't care less while they enjoyed the calming presence of each other. Hours had passed, since he had woken up from a horrible nightmare about a possible future outcome. Hours had passed, since he had thought that kissing Jerome was an unreachable dream.

"I don't want to run anymore," he muttered and buried his face in the crook of Jerome's neck, tired and exhausted not only physically, but emotionally as well. The low chuckle of his best friend and lover calmed him down, while he leaned his head against Mitch's.

"Then you simply have to stop."  
And so he did, frozen in Jerome's arms, but for once the restlessness inside of him died down to make way for something much better.

Love.  
 _What a wonderful feeling._

* * *

 **AN:** Second and last chapter of this short story - let me know what you think about it and make sure to follow me on _Twitter_ for more info about my stories and me! -at- **Milumaus** =) _  
_


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